Three Daughters
by MelGayPet
Summary: Three daughters Elizabeth never had.
1. Diana

**A/N:** Okay, General Hospital has waaaaay too many baby stories. And Elizabeth, especially, is a character that needs another child like she needs a hole in the head. So why do my fic ideas always seem to include babies? Sigh.

* * *

It had been a very long day, and so after dinner, Elizabeth took the chance to escape to bed. She was guiltily grateful that it was Lucky's weekend with the boys. Cam, at fourteen, was pretty self-sufficient, but seven-year-old Aidan was the kind of rambunctious kid you didn't leave alone for long. She simply didn't have the energy tonight and she still wasn't comfortable relying on the household staff for child-wrangling.

She eased herself onto the king-sized bed, groaning in pleasure as the mattress enfolded her. Thank God she had the day off tomorrow. Of course, she was soon approaching the point where she'd have to stop work altogether. She reached for the book on her nightstand.

She had barely gotten through half a chapter when her husband arrived, iPad and a stack of folders in hand, to settle himself into the armchair to work. He was endlessly busy, but these days never wanted to be far from her. His over-solicitude could be annoying, but most of the time, like now, it warmed her. She had nearly drifted off to sleep, when a questioned roused her.

"What do you think of Diana?"

She blinked at him. AJ was looking at her, his expression serious, expectant. "Diana who?"

His eyebrows rose slightly. "Quartermaine. Diana Quartermaine." After a pause, he added, "It means _'heavenly, divine'_."

She set aside the book she'd draped over her stomach and pushed herself up a little on the bed. "You're looking up names? I thought you were going over expense reports or whatever."

"Hey, I'm a CEO, I can multi-task. Well?"

She considered. "'Divine,' huh? Like the goddess. Or Wonder Woman." She heard him grunt in amusement, she ignored him. "A strong name, then. I do like it. But..."

"But what?"

She gazed at him. "Not Emily?"

The faint smile vanished and he looked away. "I thought...it might be too painful. For my mom. To hear it all the time..."

 _Not just for Monica,_ she thought. She held out a hand to him and was relieved when he rose to join her on their bed, taking her hand in his. His free hand rested immediately on her belly.

"I understand," she said softly. "She was practically my sister, too. I was closer to her than I ever have been to Sarah."

He nodded in acknowledgement, but didn't meet her eyes. She decided a slight change of subject was in order. "So you're good with having a girl?"

His head jerked up and he stared at her. "Why would you ask me that?"

"Tracy said something the other day."

"For god's sake, don't listen to her." His brow creased, his expression edging toward angry. "Did she upset you?"

Elizabeth laughed. "I'm used to Tracy. And she wasn't even trying to be mean, just...herself."

He relaxed a little. "I suppose she's conditioned to think men want sons more than daughters. I can't really blame her - Grandfather did a number on her head. Doesn't make her any easier to deal with, though."

She nodded, but wasn't much interested in talking about Tracy. "You didn't answer my question. You're not disappointed, are you?"

"No! It's just..." he trailed off, looking oddly lost and she felt her chest tighten.

"Just what?" When he didn't answer, she squeezed his hand and softened her tone. "Hey. Talk to me."

"I'm _not_ disappointed. I just...I wasn't expecting a girl, that's all."

She arched an eyebrow at him. "It couldn't have been that big a shock. Fifty-fifty chance, you know."

"Not really." He sat up, looking at her earnestly. "I did a little research..."

" _Research?_ "

"...and the odds actually vary. It's the man who determines the sex..."

"Yes, I do know that," she interjected again, very dryly.

"Right, so my dad's only biological children were both boys. And Jason had two boys, too."

He must have felt her flinch, because he stopped, looking horrified. She could see the apology in his eyes and offered him a tremulous smile, hoping to stave off any verbal ones. He understood, pulling her close, before clearing his throat hard and continuing as if there had been no interruption. "And, of course, I have Michael. So the odds are actually higher than fifty percent that my next child would be a boy, too. With a little more research, I could probably figure out exactly how much higher."

"Fascinating," she told him. "But unnecessary. Since we already know we're having a girl. Personally, I'm ready for a change of pace."

"Yeah?"

"This is the last child I intend to have," she said, a little tartly. "So I'm happy to have a daughter." She studied his face. "What are you really worried about?"

He didn't speak for a long moment, before saying, in a throaty whisper. "I don't know. What if I'm a terrible dad and screw her up?"

"Oh, honey." She stroked his face, running her thumb across that strong jawline. "You're not a terrible dad at all."

"I don't know," he murmured. He stared broodingly into space. "It's not like I raised Michael, after all."

This was grief, she thought, and if it wasn't the same as hers for Jake, it was just as real. "That's not your fault," she said firmly. _It's Carly's. And Sonny's._ The next name came reluctantly, but it was inescapable. _And Jason's._ Best not to go down that road. "You're a wonderful father to Michael now. You know how much he loves you."

His face softened, taking on the same wondering, almost awed expression he wore whenever Michael called him 'Dad.'

Encouraged, she went on. "And you're so good with Cam and Aidan. Even Lucky thinks so." That was true. Lucky and AJ were even friends now, which still struck her as weird, even as she was grateful for it. "And I have exactly zero doubt that you'll be a great father to Diana."

He looked at her, eyes bright with unshed tears, and smiled. "Diana?"

"Diana Emily Quartermaine. I don't think that will be too painful for anyone, do you?"

"I think that's perfect." He kissed her deeply, love and appreciation and understanding flowing between them and extending to their daughter, who kicked vigorously as if in approval.

Elizabeth gasped, and AJ grinned down at where his hand still rested on her belly. "I guess that makes it unanimous!"


	2. Maeve

**A/N:** It should be obvious, I hope, but this isn't a continuing story, so much as three small 'what-if' stories. Variations on a theme, if you will.

* * *

At first, Elizabeth had thought nothing of it. Typical locker-room chatter between some other nurses, she had only listened with half an ear as she changed into her street clothes. A woman had gone into labor, delivered a healthy child, and then hemorrhaged, dying despite all efforts to save her. Sad, but sad things happened every day in General Hospital.

The furtive glances in her direction, accompanied by quickly hushed voices, as she'd turned away from her locker was a different story.

Foreboding starting to churn in her gut, she had detoured back to the nurses' station and logged on to the computer, and was now scrolling through Labor & Delivery records to find the name of today's deceased patient. It was silly, probably a complete stranger, she'd just make sure and then go home...

 _Siobhan Spencer._

With suddenly numbed fingers, she logged off and headed toward the stairs at a run.

When she reached the NICU, however, she stopped. She could see Lucky through the window, pacing restlessly in circles around a bassinet at the far end of the room. She had read the chart, she knew the baby was technically premature but completely healthy; normally that would mean staying in the mother's room until checkout, but in this case...

She couldn't think of what to say, she and Lucky had not spoken beyond the absolute necessities involving Cam and Aidan in months. Not since that awful day he had told her Siobhan was pregnant and she had accused him of trying to replace Jake. She flinched at the memory and pushed the door open.

She went straight to Lucky and wrapped her arms around him. She half-expected him to stiffen and pull away, tears came to her eyes when he choked out her name and leaned into her embrace. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.

He did step away then, though he clasped her hand. His eyes were red-rimmed but there were no tears in them.

"I don't...it happened so fast," he said, voice ragged and disbelieving. Studying his face, she thought he looked more shocked than grief-stricken.

 _He didn't really love her,_ she thought, not for the first time. The thought brought her no satisfaction. If she knew Lucky - and she did - that might make it worse for him in the days ahead.

"I have to call her family. In Ireland," he said in a distant tone. "And the boys, I have to tell them. I don't know how," he added.

Elizabeth felt her heart sink. Aidan was still too little to understand death, but not to pick up on the emotions of everyone around him, and Cam... Cam liked Siobhan and had already known far more grief than any eight year-old boy should.

"I'll help you," she said firmly. "We'll do that together. Is this the baby?" she asked, turning toward the bassinet. A foolish question, but she thought it was a good idea to divert his attention. "You should hold her. Hold her as much as you can." He gave her startled look, but obediently picked her up and cuddled her close to his chest.

"Oh," he said softly, and Elizabeth wondered if this was actually the first time he had held his new child. They stood in silence for several minutes before Lucky shocked her by turning and placing the baby in her arms.

"Oh," she echoed, staring. "She looks like Aidan." Lucky laughed and if it sounded a little watery, it was still a laugh. "I guess that's not surprising. Except, look at that!" The baby stretched suddenly, blue eyes popping open, and the tiny hat on her head slid halfway off, revealing wispy tufts of hair that was a definite reddish-gold in color.  
"She's beautiful, Lucky," she said in complete sincerity. "Does she have a name?"

"Siobhan," he swallowed hard on the name, but continued on. "Siobhan was thinking Maeve, she told me it was the name of a warrior goddess. I wasn't so sure about it, but..." he shrugged.

Elizabeth wanted badly to hug him again, but hitched the baby up higher instead. "Hello, Maeve Spencer. My name is Elizabeth. We're going to be good friends, all right? You're a lucky little girl, because your daddy loves you so much and you have two big brothers who are gonna love you like crazy, too. And you have two guardian angels. One is your mother, who is always going to look out for you and the other is your brother Jake." Her vision blurred and she became aware of Lucky's arm around her shoulders.


	3. Ruby

**A/N:** And here's the last one! I wrote these in a hurry and I think it shows, but _finally_ , I can get them out of my head!

* * *

The day Elizabeth Webber gives birth to her fourth child, she is ready to concede that she is happy with her life and that leaving Port Charles and everything she had built there behind for a life on the run was a small price to pay for having all of her children restored to her.

She hadn't always thought so. Not that the price was too high - that was impossible - but it had not seemed small. She had raged at Lucky in the beginning. She would always love him for a thousand reasons, but especially for being the one to bring Jake back to her, but that hadn't stopped her. Reeling with joy and disbelief at having her dead son alive and in her arms, imagining with horror what he must have endured for years with Helena, she had not been able to really comprehend what else Lucky had told her, let alone temper her emotions.

Jake couldn't stay. Not in the open, not in Port Charles. Helena was still out there, so were her mad scientist co-conspirators and they were unlikely to give up on...whatever they had been doing with Jake. He needed help, psychological and physical, maybe even deprogramming, and he needed protection. The WSB was willing to provide both, in exchange for Lucky working for them, which he in turn was more than willing to do. He could help bring down the whole "Legion of Doom" as he called it, with bitter humor. He had negotiated with Director Jones and the agency was willing to take Elizabeth, Cam, and Aidan into hiding as well, if they chose to go, but in any case, Lucky and Jake had to leave. Immediately.

She had been furious. She couldn't be separated from Jake again, not after just getting him back, but she had a whole life, friends, a career, in Port Charles. How could she uproot the boys, how could she leave Grams, who was getting older, with no guarantee that she would ever return? To go into hiding, to live in fear?

She had flung all this at Lucky, who had countered with cold logic and restrained sympathy, but she hadn't mentioned Jason. She could not possibly explain the Jake Doe situation to him, she could barely explain it to herself, but, oh, it wasn't fair! Finally, it was their time and now it was all being ripped away!

She had chosen her son, of course. She had screamed herself hoarse and then, numb, had packed hastily for herself and the boys, following Lucky's directions. He was, no surprise, adept at traveling light.

Her anger had flared again, a few weeks later, in the underground WSB hospital in Budapest where Jake was undergoing every medical and psychological test ever invented, when Lucky had admitted to her that Nikolas had told him the truth about Jason and so Lucky had made sure Jason knew it, too. Before they left Port Charles, he had tracked Jake Doe down and told him to his face, "Your name is Jason Morgan." He had no idea what Jason had done with that information. It didn't matter, he insisted. Port Charles was behind them, they had to focus on keeping their family safe.

She had burned with shame and fury, unable to bear the thought of what Jason must think of her. What everyone must think of her. If it didn't matter, she'd finally asked him, why bother telling her he'd spilled the secret?

"Because we have to trust each other now, no matter what," he'd said. "Our lives and our boys' lives depend on it. There's no room for secrets or lies."

The next year had been hard. Moving from place to place, taking on new identities. She coped by focusing on Jake's recovery and raising the boys, and Lucky on his WSB work. Sometimes weeks would pass without hearing a word. She lived in terror that he would be killed. She did trust him more than anyone on earth, and knew he would never stop until he had made the world safe for their children.

Something had shifted after that disastrous op in Rio de Janeiro. He had nearly died jumping off a train and with two broken legs - among other injuries - he'd been laid up for nearly four months. She was still a nurse, and the WSB was happy to utilize her skills in caring for one of their most talented, if undisciplined, agents. It was the longest consecutive amount of time they had spent together in years and it was probably inevitable that they would fall in love again. She understood herself well enough by then to realize she had never really fallen out of love with Lucky. He was as much a part of her as the blood pumping through her veins.

It had not been easy, even after that, to find an equilibrium and Elizabeth, holding her daughter now, decides it is all the better for being hard-won.

 _Lucky looks as tired as I feel,_ she thinks, giving him a sidelong glance. He had barely noticed when Soledad, the midwife, had finally left, sitting next to her on the bed, gazing rapt at the swaddled bundle in her arms.

"She's got good lungs," he says. "We picked the right name. She'll holler at anyone who crosses her, I bet."

Elizabeth laughs. Ruby Audrey Spencer is asleep now, but she has already screamed louder than any of her brothers ever had, and she is only five hours old.

"Good," she says. "I could use some help keeping all you wild boys in line. Speaking of, should you go..." She doesn't even finish the sentence before she hears a door slam and running feet. Lucky tenses instinctively, but they both recognize those particular treads within an instant.

The door flies open and their sons coming spilling through. "Mom!" Aidan shouts, running full-tilt, but his father is faster and he grabs the compact eight year-old around the stomach before he can fling himself on the bed.

"Take it easy, kiddo. You don't want to dogpile on your mom and little sister just yet. She's breakable."

"She's little," Jake says, wide eyes making him look, for once, as young as he actually is. He has bounced back incredibly in the past three years, but his time held prisoner has marked him.

"She is at that," Elizabeth says lightly, before passing her over to the patiently waiting Cameron. At fifteen, her firstborn has grown enough to tower over her and is all lanky muscles and freckles from the Mexican sun. His hair is still a mess of unruly curls, though, and she had nearly cried a few weeks ago when Lucky had arrived from his latest mission with his hair shorn close to his scalp - there was a story there, but she hadn't wormed it out of him yet - and teasingly threatened to do the same to Cam.

"She looks like you, Dad," Cam is saying now. "And just like Aidan did when he was a baby."

"Figures," Elizabeth, says rolling her eyes in Lucky's direction. With the exception of Cam - she sees those big brown eyes in the mirror every day - not one of her children shows any physical sign that she had been involved in their conceptions at all.

"She might be funny-lookin' now, but soon she'll be a beautiful as your mama," Lucky retorts breezily.

The older boys laugh, but Aidan looks indignant. "Hey!" He climbs carefully on the bed at her side. "I'm not funny-lookin'!"

"Daddy is teasing," she assures him, pulling him close and giving her other men a reproachful look. "Do you want to hold Ruby?"

He nods seriously, and she gestures at Cam to hand the baby over to his brother, which he does with a gentleness that causes moisture to spring to her eyes. She regrets that their life has made him grow up faster than he needs to, and she thinks she might have relied on him too much, but his kindness and steadiness has been a lifesaver these past three years. She has no idea where he got his good sense from - she and Lucky both are impetuous people with self-destructive tendencies, and so, for that matter, was Zander. She can only imagine that Cameron Steven Spencer is a throwback to the great-grandfather whose name he carries.

Jake is now clamoring for his turn to hold his sister and she meets Lucky's eyes and is blown away by the sheer joy in them. Yes, she is happy, despite danger and loss and everything she's given up. Somehow, after so long, she and Lucky have finally found peace.


End file.
